Displaying items by tag: Laboratory Tests in Porphyrias

Porphyrias (from Greek porphura meaning purple pigment; the name is probably derived from purple discoloration of some body fluids during the attack) are a heterogeneous group of rare disorders resulting from disturbance in the heme biosynthetic pathway leading to the abnormal accumulations of red and purple pigments called as porphyrins in the body. Heme, a component of hemoglobin, is synthesized through various steps as shown in Figure 817.1. Each of the steps is catalyzed by a separate enzyme; if any of these steps fails (due to hereditary or acquired cause), precursors of heme (porphyrin intermediates) accumulate in blood, get deposited in skin and other organs, and excreted in urine and feces. Depending on the site of defect, different types of porphyrias are described with varying clinical features, severity, and the nature of accumulated porphyrin.

Porphyria has been offered as a possible explanation for the medieval tales of vampires and werewolves; this is because of the number of similarities between the behavior of persons suffering from porphyria and the folklore (avoiding sunlight, mutilation of skin on exposure to sunlight, red teeth, psychiatric disturbance, and drinking of blood to obtain heme).

Porphyrias are often missed or wrongly diagnosed as many of them are not associated with definite physical findings, screening tests may yield false-negative results, diagnostic criteria are poorly defined and mild disorders produce an enzyme assay result within ‘normal’ range.

Heme is mainly required in bone marrow (for hemoglobin synthesis) and in liver (for cytochromes). Therefore, porphyrias are divided into erythropoietic and hepatic types, depending on the site of expression of disease. Hepatic porphyrias mainly affect the nervous system, while erythropoietic porphyrias primarily affect the skin. Porphyrias are also classified into acute and nonacute (or cutaneous) types depending on clinical presentation (Table 817.1).

Inheritance of porphyrias may be autosomal dominant or recessive. Most acute porphyrias are inherited in an autosomal dominant manner (i.e. inheritance of one abnormal copy of gene). Therefore, the activity of the deficient enzyme is 50%. When the level of heme falls in the liver due to some cause, activity of ALA synthase is stimulated leading to increase in the levels of heme precursors up to the point of enzyme defect. Increased levels of heme precursors cause symptoms of acute porphyria. When the heme level returns back to normal, symptoms subside.

Accumulation of porphyrin precursors can occur in lead poisoning due to inhibition of enzyme aminolevulinic acid dehydratase in heme biosynthetic pathway. This can mimick acute intermittent porphyria.

CLINICAL FEATURES

Clinical features of porphyrias are variable and depend on type. Acute porphyrias present with symptoms like acute and severe abdominal pain/vomiting/constipation, chest pain, emotional and mental disorders, seizures, hypertension, tachycardia, sensory loss, and muscle weakness. Cutaneous porphyrias present with photosensitivity (redness and blistering of skin on exposure to sunlight), itching, necrosis of skin and gums, and increased hair growth over the temples (Table 817.2).

Porphyria can be diagnosed through tests done on blood, urine, and feces during symptomatic period. Timely and accurate diagnosis is required for effective management of porphyrias. Due to the variability and a broad range of clinical features, porphyrias are included under differential diagnosis of many conditions. All routine hospital laboratories usually have facilities for initial investigations in suspected cases of porphyrias; laboratory tests for identification of specific type of porphyrias are available in specialized laboratories.

Apart from diagnosis, the detection of excretion of a particular heme intermediate in urine or feces can help in detecting site of defect in porphyria. Heme precursors up to coproporphyrinogen III are water-soluble and thus can be detected in urine. Protoporphyrinogen and Protoporphyrin are insoluble in water and are excreted in bile and can be detected in feces. All samples should be protected from light.

Ehrlich’s aldehyde test is done for detection of PBG. Ehrlich’s reagent (p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde) reacts with PBG in urine to produce a red color. The red product has an absorption spectrum with a peak at 553 nm and a shoulder at 540 nm. Since both urobilinogen and porphobilinogen produce similar reaction, further testing is required to distinguish between the two. Urobilinogen can be removed by solvent extraction. (See Watson-Schwartz test). Levels of PBG may be normal or near normal in between attacks. Therefore, samples should be tested during an attack to avoid false-negative results.

Test for Total Porphyrins in Urine

Total porphyrins can be detected in acidified urine sample by spectrophotometry (Porphyrins have an intense absorbance peak around 400 nm). Semiquantitative estimation of porphyrins is possible.

Test for Total Porphyrins in Feces

Total porphyrins in feces can be determined in acidic extract of fecal sample by spectrophotometry; it is necessary to first remove dietary chlorophyll (that also absorbs light around 400 nm) by diethyl ether extraction.

Tests for Porphyrins in Erythrocytes and Plasma

Visual examination for porphyrin fluorescence, and solvent fractionation and spectrophotometry have now been replaced by fluorometric methods.

Further Testing

If the initial testing for porphyria is positive, then concentrations of porphyrins should be estimated in urine, feces, and blood to arrive at specific diagnosis (Tables 817.3 and 817.4).